Four Northern Michigan University students have been awarded the Charles C. Spooner Grant, which provides funds to students to allow them to pursue research and creative activities. 

            In order to qualify for the award, undergraduate and graduate students must have a GPA of 3.0 and provide evidence of commitment from a faculty member, who will serve as project adviser. Students must also have their projects endorsed by the relevant academic department.

The endowment was established by the late Charles C. Spooner. Up to $1,500 in awards are presented each semester. 

            This semester’s winners are:

            ▪Julie L. Howard from Morgan Hill, Calif. Her project focuses on the diet overlap between native brook trout, non-native coho salmon and non-native steelhead in Sevenmile Creek at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

            ▪William J. Severud from Plymouth, Minn., is estimating the relative proportions of terrestrial and aquatic vegetation in beaver diets using stable isotope analysis.

            ▪Michael Peters from Hart, Mich., is attempting to verify that using pairs of suppressive bacteria will decrease potato scab disease better than a single strain.

            ▪Olabisi Lashore from Marquette, Mich. His research project focuses on the transportation of magnesium ions across a cell membrane.